In the lectures I will formulate a conjecture asserting that there is a hidden action of certain motivic cohomology groups on the cohomology of arithmetic groups. One can construct this action, tensored with $\mathbb C$, using differential forms. Also one can construct it, tensored with $\mathbb Q_p$, by using a derived version of the Hecke algebra (or a derived version of the Galois deformation rings).

Princeton University; Veblen Research Instructor, School of Mathematics

November 21, 2017

A celebrated theorem of Duke states that Picard/Galois orbits of CM points on a complex modular curve equidistribute in the limit when the absolute value of the discriminant goes to infinity. The equidistribution of Picard and Galois orbits of special points in products of modular curves was conjectured by Michel and Venkatesh and as part of the equidistribution strengthening of the André-Oort conjecture. I will explain the proof of a recent theorem making progress towards this conjecture.

The definition of the Kauffman bracket skein algebra of an oriented surface was originally motivated by the Jones polynomial invariant of knots and links in space, and a representation of the skein algebra features in Witten's topological quantum field theory interpretation of the Jones invariant. Later, the skein algebra and its representations was discovered to bear deep relationships to hyperbolic geometry, via the $SL_2 \mathbb C$-character variety of the surface.

Let $\mathcal G$ be a split reductive group over a $p$-adic field $F$, and $G$ the group of its $F$-points.

The main insight of the local Langlands program is that to every irreducible smooth representation $(\rho, G, V )$ should correspond a morphism $\nu_\rho : W_F \to {}^\vee G$ of the Weil group $W_F$ of the field $F$ to the Langlands' dual group $^\vee G$.

Harmonic bundles are flat bundles equipped with a pluri-harmonic metric. They are very useful in the study of flat bundles on complex projective manifolds. Indeed, according to the fundamental theorem of Corlette, any semisimple flat bundle on a projective manifold has a pluri-harmonic metric. Moreover, Simpson generalized many important theorems for polarizable variation of Hodge structures, such as Hard Lefschetz Theorem, to the context of harmonic bundles.

I will discuss a connection between monodromy groups of variations of Hodge structure and the global behavior of the associated period map. The large-scale information in the period map is contained in the Lyapunov exponents, which are invariants coming from dynamical systems. In some cases when the monodromy group is thin, i.e. infinite-index in the relevant arithmetic lattice, one can construct new geometric objects that cannot exist in the arithmetic case.

Harmonic bundles are flat bundles equipped with a pluri-harmonic metric. They are very useful in the study of flat bundles on complex projective manifolds. Indeed, according to the fundamental theorem of Corlette, any semisimple flat bundle on a projective manifold has a pluri-harmonic metric. Moreover, Simpson generalized many important theorems for polarizable variation of Hodge structures, such as Hard Lefschetz Theorem, to the context of harmonic bundles.